


Fuck your scheduling conflict

by moonlightmalt



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, also pls b kind this is my first fic, just like threats from alex bc she's a lil violent but that's ok, probably, shouldn't be any depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18403814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightmalt/pseuds/moonlightmalt
Summary: Magnus and Alex plan a date!! to the death!!





	1. Chapter 1

It's been several months since our whole journey to stop Ragnarok had come to an end. My friends on floor 19 decided to play Pool To The Death, because of course we offered that activity, but I told them I'd pass. Begrudgingly, they let me slide out and keep my head this time. (Literally, Pool To The Death gets far too intense!! The javelins replacing the pool sticks are deadly, even if you're an einherji.) I'd just about dozed off under the tree in my room, when loud banging at the door interrupted any peace I was trying to nab.

Being dead, I usually didn't get many visitors, so I figured it could either be Sam or Alex. You tend to recognize their angry knocking after a while, and Blitz and Hearth would be a little more gentle, or pop up unannounced, so I suspected it wasn't them.

"Open up, Chase!! You've got a hot date with some scissors, going once!!"

Oh, right. It's been a while since my last mandatory-by-Alex haircut. Ever since Blitz chopped my hair off for a magic bowling bag, Alex has routinely been cutting it every so often, and I haven't had the heart to tell her no. Or the guts. I doubted the offer was one I could refuse, so I walked over to the door, and opened it for her. Wait... him, today.

"Took you long enough. What, were you asleep? It's past noon."

"Any sleep I may or may not have been trying to get was definitely scared away by your obnoxious knocking." I gave him a hurt look, and continued, "Now I'm gonna have to set up the snooze traps again!!"

That earned an eye roll, and a look of disappointment. Alex was wearing a pink and green pastel flannel tied around his waist, a rose tank top, lime jeans, and a pair of laced leather boots. His arms, which I may have taken a moment longer than I needed to look at, were holding a box full of sewing supplies, and a mini speaker. He shoved past me, making sure to bump my shoulder on the way in, and continued, "Well Mags, maybe if you set reusable traps, you wouldn't have to do so much extra work every time you screw up."

"You mean every time _you_ screw me up."  
  
He gestured with a rolling hand, waving it off. "Details, details. Now get over here, before I drag you." His barber box, as he called it, was unlatched and unfolding into a chair with one of those apron-cape things that catch all the hair that falls off. Or at least keeps it off your neck. Not wanting to be handled by Alex, (in that context, at least.) I obeyed, settling into the chair, and donning the barber's cape with all the dignity of a sad floating head. 

He seemed satisfied with this, giving me a little smirk of his, baring his teeth a little, and crinkling the corners of his amber and brown eyes. My Totally Not Admiring My Boyfriend time was interrupted by locks of green hair assaulting my forehead and eyes and face. 

"Ptbhth what are you doing?!"

"Pretty soon I'm gonna have to join you for a cut, my hair's almost as long as yours was."

"Right, obviously we can't have that."

"Right. I don't hear you complaining about free cuts."

"Don't, or choose not to?"

Another eye roll. "Like I said, sit still so I can start."

"Did I miss that?"

"Yes, when you were fawning over how gay you are for me. Now stop moving your head, please? I don't want to nick you. You may have stupid-fast healing, but that doesn't mean I want your blood over my tools."

Defeated, I did as he told me, trying to will my face not to flush. He put his arms around my neck to adjust my cape, which didn't help At All. I'm sure he could tell, because he kissed my forehead and mouthed "Dork." before setting some tunes, and getting to work. 


	2. Honesty is the best policy to get you killed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus and Alex plan a date!! to the death!!

Alex's fingers ran through my hair, intricate and rhythmic. His hands were used to such motions, I'm sure, from all the pottery and garrote-fighting he does. And whatever else he gets up to. I usually wasn't a big fan of physical contact, but with him, with Alex, it felt okay. It felt safe. Over the course of our adventures together, and otherwise spending time, I've come to really trust him, even if I don't get everything about him. Not the whole gender thing, which I probably shouldn't call "The Whole Gender Thing." I get that; several people at the homeless shelters, and on the streets I'd met were trans, and I'd made an effort to learn what I could, where I could. 

It's an easy enough concept. Alex Fierro, however, is not. Despite months with him, he's still an enigma wrapped in a question mark. His touch brought me away from that train of thought, sending waves of butterflies through my scalp, and stomach. 

"How are we lookin, green bean?"

"Call me that again, and I'll make sure you can't look anywhere for a week."

"You've called me worse!!"

"Because you  _deserved_ to be called worse!! I don't know what I could've possibly done to warrant vegetable nicknames."

"It's only fair!! If I have to be called beantown, I'm sharing the bean love, and adding you to my residency, so you get a bean nickname."

Silence for a few moments. His hand stilled, stagnant in my hair, then he grabbed a handful of what he could, and spun me around in my chair until I was looking him in the eyes. 

"Magnus, if anyone finds out you call me that, I'll never hear the end of it. I'll have Mack giving me holiday cards signed "To the beans, from floor 19," and I'll have to top that. It'll be a whole thing."

Since we got back from our run-in with Loki, Mallory and Alex have been in a heated back-and-forth of bad holiday cards. Sam got mixed up in it for a few weeks, but couldn't keep up as often as the other two. These range from things like "Happy 83rd birthday, Grandpa" to "Donut sweat the small stuff, get well soon!!" It was vicious stuff.

"So what you're saying is, keep it between just us?"

"What I'm saying is, if you don't watch your step, I'm going to shave a dick in your hair, and you'll get dragged into this card war. But..."

"I think a dick and a butt in my hair would get Blitz on my own butt."

He rolled his eyes, letting go of my hair to continue inspecting it. 

"I hate to admit it Mags, but it's almost cute."

"My hair?"

"You. Your dumb nickname, and your dumb logic behind it. I'll think it over, just don't mention it for a bit." 

My cheeks flushed against my will, and I lost my words for the better part of a couple minutes, so I settled for nodding. He looked me over, sending more blood to my face. I knew he probably wasn't checking me out, and was only checking for missed bits, but I couldn't help but get a little nervous under his gaze. Alex nodded to himself, satisfied, and wrapped his arms around me. Confused, I did what first came to mind, meeting him halfway for a hug.

"Uh. Chase, you know this is the part where I take off your cape, right?"

Oh. 

"Uhm. Yeah. Definitely, sorry. Absolutely, just-"  


"Hey, it's alright. Let me get this off of you, so we don't get your hair all over me." 

He unclipped the cape, shaking loose hair to the floor, which the box quickly sucked up like a magic roomba. Meanwhile, I was trying to bring my heart rate down from the stratosphere. I'm still getting used to expressing affection, and what will upset Alex. I know not to bring up his past, and not to pry. I don't know when it's okay to ask for contact, or to give it. We're both still figuring that out, and having talked about it did help, but we're a couple of nervous teens. Well, I'm a nervous teen, I can't speak for Alex. 

Alex tucked away the cape, setting tools back in the box where the belong, and motioned me to get up. I did so, brushing off any stray hairs that the cape didn't catch.  Before I could look back up, I was wrapped in his arms. He smelled like oranges and a hint of rose. I felt like I couldn't get enough of it, and held him closer, squeezing him. Alex became my whole world for those few moments, until he let go. 

"There. You can ask for those now, but don't always expect a yes. I'm not exactly a touchy person."

"I get it, trust me. I'm not either, but..."

"But? Don't get all sappy on me, Chase."

I rolled my eyes, unable to help smiling. 

"It's nice when it's with you." 

"Mags, what'd I just say!! Gods, you're bad with instructions. I'd hate to see what you could do to an Ikea table. "

"Maybe if you'd define your vision of sappy, I could avoid it."

"Maybe if you weren't _the_ definition of sappy, I would specify.

I started to retort, but Alex held a finger up to my mouth, essentially stopping my heart. He met my eyes, as if studying them. "If I have to admit it, I like it too. You remind me of hiking outside on a warm day, Summery bastard that you are."

A smile crept up on my face, sending the room's temperature up a couple degrees. Alex reached for my hand, taking it in his. I figured that was the closest I'd get to a genuine compliment from him for now, and I was content with that. I was content with him. We stood like that for a minute or two, a gentle breeze blowing around us. Months living here, and I still didn't get how my room could have its own wind. "What's your afternoon like, Mags?" asked Alex, breaking the silence. What did I have going on? I'd meant to comb through the activities for today, but nothing really stood out to me, when it was all "To The Death!!"

"Nothing, really. I know T.J. has a Fortnite competition later that Mack and Halfborn are going to support him at, but that's not til tonight."

"You say that like I wasn't aware; you know he's been talking about it for the past month. It's really important to him, of course we're going."

One of the many things I admired and loved about Alex Fierro is that he took anything seriously the second it was expressed that it's important to someone, or that they care about it. This included T.J.'s game that he usually made jokes about. He didn't stop teasing him about it, mind you, but he'd still listen and talk about it with him, and showed interest. 

"Right, glad we're on the same page there."

"So you're free, good. Then you won't have any issue with me taking you out?"

"Like killing me, or going somewhere?"

"Those aren't mutually exclusive.", he laughed, gently. Alex bit his lip, tasting the question for a moment before giving me a shrug. "Depends. We'll see how the date goes."

A date!! That's genuinely exciting, even if it might end up with me being killed. That was a daily occurrence though, I might as well have fun before it happens, if it does. Plus, I couldn't turn down more time with Alex, it's so wonderful being around him. I shot him a smile, trying to radiate as much warmth as I could.

"Okay, I'm up for a date with you."

"Good!! Then come on, I've already signed us up, and I do  _not_ want to be late. Don't worry about dressing up, that'll do fine." 

That had crossed my mind, but I didn't have a phone to ask Blitz for advice, and I didn't have much in the way of a wardrobe. Before I could object or bring anything up, Alex was dragging me out the door, with little to no explanation. 


	3. I make my boyfriend do pottery for revenge, but also for fun.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex pov now!! mixing it up bc im having trouble focusing on mags.

I turn to look at him, my lips inescapably crooking into a smirk. An annoying habit, only around him. I can't seem to get this damn expression off my face sometimes, I swear it's a curse or something. I see his lips moving, his eyebrows furrowing, obviously concerned he did something wrong. He hasn't, yet, shockingly!! I haven't really done the whole romance thing, save once or twice, but those didn't work out. I know, it's  _such_ a surprise twist!! Who wouldn't fall head over heels for Valhalla's Best Garrote Wielder. 

Right, enough of that. I asked him a question. I already know the answer, but I needed to hear it from him; an outside voice to chase away my anxieties. News flash, I'm confident as hell, and Will stomp down anyone begging the question. However, I still have my fair share of nerfs here and there. Namely, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and depression. I'm openly rransgender and genderfluid, because those aspects of me are nothing to be ashamed of. Neither are my mental illnesses, mind you, but I'm still coming to terms with them, believe it or not. 

Anyway, back to good ol' Beantown. "I don't know, I thought you wouldn't be comfortable with that, and I didn't want to... push you, or make you uncomfortable with any advances," he pouted. He's too cute, I can't stand his guts. His recently shorn blond hair shone in the light of the hall. His eyes met mine for a few moments that I savored, and the most precious little frown sagged on his face. I bit my lip before putting a hand on his shoulder, clapping it maybe a bit harder than I wanted. Oops. 

He gave a slight grimace at the sudden contact, but steeled it away. I tapped my fingers thrice to signify asking consent. One of our better habits we've picked up from each other; neither of us are huge on touch, but we're trying to come around to that, and showing affection isn't always physical, but in the times that it is, we have little codes/mannerisms for them. This being one of them. 

He gave the ok, a nod and a two-finger touch on the back of my hand. Cool. Now to say more words to him. "I really appreciate the thought, Mags, but I swear you're not gonna break me if you kiss me first every now and then." 

Magnus laughed uneasily, darting his eyes away from mine. "I'm more afraid of  _you_ breaking  _me_ ," he admitted. I rolled my eyes, putting a hand on my hip in defiance. "Gods, Chase, that was  _one time_ , I'll admit, I  _may_ have freaked out, but it shouldn't happen again." 

"Alex, you decapitated me  _again._ That isn't something I should be able to say!!"

"We're practically immortal, Magnus. There's Lots you shouldn't be able to say, but can."

"I trust you, but I don't want to risk losing my head over this. Literally, I mean."

"Then just do try when I'm not armed next time. Maybe approach from the front."

"You're always armed!! I swear, you sleep with that thing around your waist."

"Like you don't with Jack around your neck?" 

That shut him up. Not that I don't love seeing him all hot and bothered about shit, but this conversation wasn't getting us anywhere. Yes, I cut his head off, twice. Once was for good cause, though!! My mom was trying to overload his body and make him explode. He was literally steaming, so I had to do  _something._ The next time, he came up behind me and kissed my head, so I flinched and well... You can imagine the rest. We're trained as Odin's Immortal Warriors, it's kind of hard not to have dangerous reflexes when everyone's out to kill you all the time. We do resurrect, as long as we die in Valhalla, so don't worry, he's fine. 

In any case, I didn't mean to, and I've since apologized. It's fine. "Listen, I'm sorry I cut your head off again. You know how it was on the streets, and coming here being trained for combat didn't exactly help. I'm trying to be better about it, but it's not exactly easy." He furrowed his brow, frowning with those storm-grey eyes. Not as fierce as his cousin's, but definitely just as striking.

"Alex, I get it, trust me I do. I don't know what you went through, but being homeless was harrowing, and depressing, but we're away from that now. I know that doesn't make it any easier to recover from all of it, but it's a start. Obviously I'm gonna respect any boundaries you set up, that goes without saying, but I can't tell what you're comfortable with if you kill me over it, and say it's fine."

I bit my lip, trying to choose my words carefully. It wouldn't do me well to blow up right now. I know that!! I'm not trying to be this inconsistent, but I haven't trusted someone as much as him since... I can hardly remember. I don't want to remember, it's been so long. Better to pack it up and leave it behind, then worry about any of it now. It's over, it happened. Deep breath, Fierro. "Magnus. We can talk about this later. I'm trying, and I need time, so leave it be. Our class starts soon, and I don't want to smash anyone's pottery but my own.  This is important to me, and I know you're not interested in it as I am-"  
  
"Hey, who said I'm not interested? Pottery Barn was really cool, and despite the music war between you and T.J., I had a nice time making them with you. And about that other stuff, it can wait. Just, voicing my side." 

I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. It's okay, he's not gonna blow up. That's not like him, unless he's really pushed. Being someone who was abused, having... I guess they're not arguments, but disagreements?? Even little conversations like this, they scare me. I can't stand that it does, but that's not something I can help. Almost every conversation I'd used to have with them would end in yelling, even over things like chores or asking where something was. 

On the bright side, I've got this sweet, understanding sunspot in my afterlife as long as I don't push him away. "Thanks Mags. I'm still getting used to..." I gestured, vaguely. "All this."

He nodded. "Well, we have a couple minutes until we're back with what you're familiar with. I'm sure you can make me feel ridiculous about how little I know about pottery, and I'll bicker back with you." 

I chuckled, glad for the change of pace. "Thank Gods, I was about to drown in all that emotion," I rolled my eyes at him, grinning. Can't help it, he's a good source of serotonin.


	4. You Really Can't Mess This Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sry its been ages, i had to research pottery n havent had the motivation to do so for a bit

"Okay, so let's go over the plan one more time?" 

"I cover your ass while you learn the basics. We're just doing a pinch pot today, which is very simple. You shouldn't run into any problems with it. If you do, I'll harass you about it for weeks." 

"How many?"

"Several, plus one for each time you ask, now relax. I doubt anyone here really wants to fight, this is baby stuff." 

"Right, I can do baby stuff. I handled that coiling like a pro, so I've already got one part down!!"

"Yeah, that's not a part of anything we're doing today, but I'm touched you remembered the term, and didn't just call it 'play-do rolling' or something."

 

I was _not_ gonna stand there and let him insult me like that, so I pulled a chair out and sat down. This prompted him to do the same, a smug smirk on his devilish face. Mismatched eyes peered into my own, checking if I'd given up on bickering or not, but still holding a lot of satisfaction in them either way. "Again, I know this is important to you, so I'm making an effort."

"Because I dragged you here."

"Because you dragged me here. And, because I care about you. I easily could've gotten myself killed to get out of this, but I haven't!!"

"That's morbid for you, Mags."

"Okay, okay. You know what I mean, I could've said no, or made an excuse."

"Again."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. This was gonna be a long seminar at this rate. " _Again."_

 

Ms. Potts (I know!! Crazy coincidence, right?) made her way to the front of the room, and tapped on the smartboard to activate it. Flashbacks of Odin's PowerPoint presentation came back to me, much to my dismay. Alex started drumming his fingers on the table, which brought me out of my PTPD. (Post Traumatic PowerPoint Display) A smile crept up my face; seeing him do the little things that make him him makes me happy. I was also thankful for my attention back, and used it to look at the screens on our table. A couple rows of large, covered tables circled the room, with Potts being in the center, with her bent-circle smartboard. Personally, I don't know how they got it to do that without breaking, but I've also seen Blitz make a suitcase into the size of a mountain, so I've since stopped questioning things like this. Saves me a headache.

Anyway, our screens, they had a very helpful text version of most of what the instructor was saying, which I took advantage of. I could hear her fine, but for whatever reason, it's easier for me to focus on reading than listening. If I tune or zone out, I can just catch back up, I can only ask 'What?' so many times before someone gets upset. Books, however, will be polite and help me regain focus.   


I could tell Alex was getting antsy to start; his drumming became more freeform, and faster. Okay, comfort physically or verbally? I don't wanna seem like I'm interrupting, but other people are murmuring, and it seems like it'd be fine? I also don't want to startle him, so-

"Yeah?"

He slowed his drumming to look at me, which froze my heart. I swallowed, taking a second to appreciate his golden-brown complexion, and the freckles that painted it. I guess at some point, I had already put my hand on his shoulder subconsciously. This is fine. I stumbled a bit mentally for a sec, but triple tapped to make sure. He gave me two fingers, so... That's a yes. He mouthed "You okay?" and I nodded, mouthing back a "Yeah.....Are you?" He returned the nod, and slid close to my ears, whispering, "Just know this all already. Ready to start, ready to tutor you myself, but I know this is better for you. Less pressure."   


I thought it sweet of him to be thinking of me when we're here for him, but I didn't mention that. At least not at this moment. Less pressure. 

We were getting past the history part of what we were doing, and into actual instructions, what we'd be using, how much freedom we had with this, etc. We were both thankful for this, as I wanted to get my materials out, and Alex has wanted to dive right into it since we came in, I'm betting. A few minutes pass, and everyone had what they needed: some pottery clay so our pots will be food and drink safe, and... our hands. Gods, this really is simple. I'm sure I could have managed something a little more complex. Does he have that little faith in me? I looked over at him, and he returned my gaze as if on cue.

"Look, I know this is isn't the most  _exciting_ thing, but I didn't know how into it you'd be. "

"Alex,-"

"Stuff bigger than this can be a big time investment, and I'm not exactly  _used_ to being invested in. "

"Hey, it's fine. I'm fine, and it's okay if you need to get used to all this. I'm still getting used to letting people other than Blitz and Hearth in. Well, getting used to having it be okay. To having a home to be in, and be relatively safe. So, I get it, and I'm patient, so you don't have to worry so much. I'm fine with simple."

He stared me down for a couple of beats before squeezing my hand. "Geez, Mags, when'd you get so good at reading people?" 

I shrugged, allowing a smile to slip thru, and happily so. "I've had a lot of practice. So, let's have a good time, and pinch some pots, yeah?"

"Yeah, I'd like that. Then I'll make something more complex when I get home to get it out of my system." 

That earned a laugh out of me. I rolled my eyes, my smile sticking to my lips, and started digging into my clay ball with my thumbs, carving a vague shape out into something with more of a solid form. Somehow, this process reminded me of the progress we've made together. 


End file.
